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EP Review :: Prairie :: Prairie (demos)

Band members sit in a field of praire grass staring either into the distance or with eyes closed in either early spring or late fall with a smattering of snow on the ground.

By Mykhailo Vil’yamson

It’s not often that one is privileged to hear demo recordings as a band’s first release, as so much of the “music industry” remains built on making public only the most curated versions of an artist’s material. But there’s something alluring about being able to hear the earliest incarnation of a group – before the stratification, calcifying and polishing of fully-produced albums. It’s reminiscent of bygone days when musician friends would share cassettes with each other of the latest songs they wrote, asking: “What do you think of this?” As for  this collection, I’d say: “Sounds bloody brilliant! Can’t wait to hear what’s next.”

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Album Review :: Vivat Virtute :: Hold Music and June First

"June First" stitched into a knit wall hanging

by maggie astrid clark

Unless you’re really dialed into the local music scene (although, given that you are currently reading Stylus Magazine, this might be a fair assumption!), it would have been easy to miss a pair of records released last year by Vivat Virtute. You might not know the name, but you definitely know its members – Winnipeg indie rock mainstays Christine Fellows and J.S. Fellows. 

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Concert Review: Neighbour Andy / Big Loser / DJ Hayden Mekai at the Good Will, Dec 26

by Stiff Wiggle

Any Christmas cheer I conjured this year had long since dissipated by Boxing Day. However, as I found myself standing shoulder to shoulder with a sold-out crowd at the Good Will, eager to enjoy an eggnoggy evening of rootsy rock with Neighbour Andy, there was no room for holiday humbugging.

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Album Review :: Ghost Woman :: Hindsight is 50/50

Ghost Woman Hindsight is 50/50 album cover. Read felt covered with angel and baby jesus porcelain decorations

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

If it were possible to audio-capture the coldest brooding glare, the album Hindsight is 50/50 is what it would sound like. Thick with weighty bass notes, menacingly minor overtones, and steeped in echoey resonance, this is the third full-length project by Albertan musician Evan Uschenko in less than two years. However, the latest manifestation of Ghost Woman is no longer a solo undertaking, as Belgian drummer Ille van Dessel has joined him. As shared at the end of last year via Dine Alone Records, Uschenko conveyed that this project “finally captures the true nature of the band” – and its tracks. Whereas the past few releases sound like a foray into 1970s reminiscence, Hindsight is 50/50 forges ahead into new sonic territory.

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Concert Review :: Another Place

An evening of trans + queer sound art and poetry (October 1 @ aceartinc.)

by maggie astrid clark
photos by derek brueckner

As evidenced by September’s so-called “1 Million March 4 Children” and by recent legislation in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, we are living through a time of escalating fascist rhetoric against trans people and related political efforts to strip the most vulnerable of us of access to safe medical and social transitions. Amidst a backdrop of great uncertainty for the future of our communities, it was truly refreshing to attend an evening of Two Spirit, trans, and queer sound art and poetry at aceartinc. (206 Princess St.) on October 1.

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